Archie Smith, Boy Wonder
by wiseowl19
Summary: Based off the drawing of the same name by Harris Burdick. One simple mistake, like waking up at the wrong time, can change a life forever. Just ask Archie and Cass.
1. Chapter 1

A tiny voice asked, "Is he the one?"

"Let's see," said a second voice that seemed to be coming from the second of two orbs of light floating in a darkened bedroom. "Archie Smith. Twelve years old. Dropped off at the door of The Old Boston Village Orphanage when he was a week old. Has lived there since then. Interests include baseball, fishing and sailing. Moderate academic value. Just the one that we're looking for. This is your first day, so I'm going to explain how this works. I'm just going to say it once, so listen up." The orbs of light shape-shifted into tiny men that were standing on the windowsill.

"So, you know how the king has to be the strongest, smartest, and cleverest in our kingdom to claim and keep the throne? And how the Queen is always the most beautiful and most graceful? Well, they aren't like that naturally. They get to be that way because of people like us. We go around to different orphanages and basically suck out the talents chosen by King Arbitron and Queen Ancyra from the children. For example, this kid here," he said, checking his notes, "Archie, has an abundant amount of cleverness. It is very important to remember that we only take from orphans."

"Why?"

"Because they don't have any parents to notice their personality differences"

"Oh! Makes sense. What do you do if the children wake up?"

The first of the two men glanced at the bed and noticed that there was a pair of sparkling blue eyes and a tuft of chocolate brown peeking out from under the covers.

"Let me demonstrate," said the first man, and all of Archie's senses seemed to disappear.

**Sorry for the short chapter! Wanted to end on a cliffy : )**

**Will post next chapter soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

Archie awoke in a dark room with a single light, with a girl staring down at him.

"What happened? Where am I? How—" he exclaimed.

"Save it. You're wasting your breath," interrupted the girl, backing up into the shadows. "The only person here is me, as far as I know. And I am almost as clueless as you are. I'm Cassandra, by the way, but you can call me Cass. Who are you?"

"I-I'm Archie."

"Cool name. Where did your parents get it from?"

"I don't know. They left me at an orphanage when I was a baby."

"Really?" said the girl, stepping back into view, "Me too!" she had dark red hair and hazel eyes.

"I don't think that's a coincidence," said Archie cautiously, like he was unsure of what he was about to say. "Before I was taken, I overheard these two little men talking. One of them was telling the other what they were doing." Archie went on to recount what he heard to his new friend Cass.

"Whoa," said Cass, siting down on the dirty ground of their cell. "This makes so much more sense now. I once knew a girl who was incredibly smart, and then one morning she woke up and couldn't spell 'it.' Everyone was so confused, and they still are. Now at least I know the truth." She took a deep breath. "But wow. Did they say how long this has been going on?"

Archie shook his head.

"We have to stop this!" exclaimed Cass

" I know," responded Archie, "but we have to get out of here first."

"Well, that's too bad. I think we've heard enough," said an older voice that was neither Archie nor Cass's, so they instinctively tensed up.

A light went on to Archie's left, illuminating two men. At first glance, you would think that they were just any other middle-aged, working men. The older of the two, the one who had talked to them, was even balding. However, if you looked a little closer, you would find that their skin had a slight unearthly mucus green glow to it. They were sitting in what looked like a posh recording booth, surrounded by shelves of complicated-looking equipment. Archie looked up and spotted a microphone hanging from the ceiling. He saw others throughout the room as well. The limited lighting had hid them from their eyes before.

Cass gulped.

"It's going to be a lot harder to escape now," she said to Archie under her breath.

"You got that right!" said the man with a creepy grin and a crazed look in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Second Chapter in One day! WHOOOOO!**

Archie and Cass were led to the investigation room with their hands and ankles tied, which made it incredibly hard to walk. As they were shoved through the bleak steel doors, they were confronted by the cold stares of a breathtakingly beautiful woman with raven black hair and a gentle lavender glow and the first of the two men that they had just talked to.

"So," said the woman, looking at them as if they were rats that were in her kitchen. "These are the brats that think that they can outsmart Queen Ancyra and King Arbitron. Well, guess what?" A smug look overcame her face. "You can't. The king and I have been alive far longer than you dwarfs. In fact, our race of Glades has been vital for more than double the span of your measly race of humans. Did you know that even the Gladian children can run from Boston to San Francisco in one beat of a humming bird's wings? What do you have to say to that?"

Archie and Cass kept their heads down and took her question as rhetorical.

"From now on," she said to the man, "these imps will be under your lock and key. I trust the placement of their cells to your discretion." She got up and sauntered out of the room, stopping in the doorway. She glanced back at the man with one eyebrow raised.

"Oh and Mr. Peterson? If anything happens to them, it will be your head that I will request. Ta ta!" And with that last comment, she whisked out of the room.

The man, Mr. Peterson, gulped.

"You heard her," he remarked, regaining his original smug composure. "There will be no funny business. Now let's get going."

He led the children back into the room that they had originally been imprisoned in.

"You will stay here. You will receive food and water daily. You will not communicate with the servants who bring it to you. They know nothing. They wouldn't tell you anything even if they did. Also, let me remind you that there are microphones and cameras everywhere." He turned to leave.

"Oh, and one more piece of advice, out of pity." Mr. Peterson granted them one last wicked grin.

"It's important to know when you've been beaten."


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later, Archie and Cass were reduced shells of their former selves. If they had had any belief that they might be able to survive in their jail cell for an extended period of time, that hope had been dashed as soon as the first blank-faced, empty-eyed, brainwashed servant walked through the padlocked doors and set down a tray with a crust of stale bread and a single cup of murky water in front of them. Both were on the brink of insanity, both weren't living, only surviving. The only thing keeping them away from the cliffs of dementia was the whispered reassurances granted to Archie and Cass daily by a servant boy, Clarion.

This boy was the only servant that seemed like he was a residence of this world, not the next. He explained how he thought that what the king and queen were doing was wrong. He told the children how they could help put an end to so many orphans' unknown suffering. Clarion also captivated Archie and Cass's drifting attention with promises of finding them an escape route. Every visit he slipped them little bits of information about the castle that they were in the dungeon of, their jailers, or escape routes, in such a low voice that the microphone did not even pick it up. Over those two weeks, they came up with an escape plan that was too simple to be detected.

On the children's sixteenth day in imprisonment, they put their plan into action. Archie and Cass sat tight until their jailer was suitably distracted in his recording studio office. While the man was preoccupied, Archie and Cass would slyly slink into the shadows. A few minutes later, Clarion burst into the office, out of breath, as if he had been running. The jailer had not yet realized that Archie and Cass were no longer visible. He looked up at Clarion and huffed in exasperation.

"What is it boy?"

"The boy and the girl. They've escaped! They were just spotted in the main hall, running toward the north gate!"

The jailer cursed and ran out of the room, not looking twice in the corner where the children were hidden away, muttering something about rotten kids and how it was almost his break.

Archie and Cass slid out of the shadows and pushed through the door to the office where Clarion was waiting. The three of them did not waste time talking once them were together. They dashed down the hall in the opposite way that the jailer was headed, keeping a lookout for anyone who would stand in their way. They passed a few people on their way down the corridor, but they just minded their own business and looked away.

"There are many who are sympathetic to our cause. They want you to succeed." Clarion explained as he jogged down the hallway. Even at a jog, the children were sprinting to catch up to him. By the time they had reached edge of the southern wall, Archie and Cass were panting.

If Clarion had correct information, there would be a thicket of ferns blocking a cramped tunnel that was just big enough for Archie and Cass to crawl through right about where they were standing.

"Here it is," said Archie glumly. "Do we really have to leave you behind?"

"Yes, unfortunately. But don't worry. I will stay in contact with you, giving you updates on the talent raids planned so that you can protect the children while you build up your strength to defeat King Arbitron and Queen Ancyra," assured Clarion.

"Do you really think that our protecting of a few children will help?" whined Cass.

"Yes," said Clarion confidently. "The more children you protect, the weaker the royals will be. And the weaker the royals are, the easier it is for you to defeat them and make things right. Now you have to go! I can hear the guards coming."

Cass slipped into the tunnel.

"Thank you for all that you've done for us," said Archie, ducking into the tunnel after Cass.

"No problem," said Clarion quietly to the inky-blackness of the tunnel before turning to face the oncoming battalion of palace guards.

After more than two hours crawling through rotting leaves, dirt, and other disgusting substances, Archie and Cass emerged from the tunnel into a small park in the middle of five inter-crossing roads that formed a square of sorts.

"What?" said Cass, turning back to the tunnel entrance, only to find that it had disappeared. "Where are we?"

Archie bounced up and down.

"I would know this place in my sleep! It's like my backyard. Welcome to Oak Square in Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts," he exclaimed to Cass.

"Great. Amazing. Wonderful. Now do you know a place where we can go to get cleaned up then go back to your orphanage?"

"Of course. Follow me," responded Archie, ignoring Cass's sarcasm and heading toward a YMCA.

"Gladly," muttered Cass, who could not wait to get all of the dirt out of her hair.

Three days later, Cass and Archie were settled into their new home, the "Home for Little Wanderers" orphanage in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. By day, they were just normal kids, playing sports and joking with friends, but at night they were forever alert, never in deep sleep. They were always especially observant when it came to watching for signs from Clarion. However, they had to wait for two weeks until the message finally came.

It was very simple. Just two words and a number scratched onto a piece of bark that Archie found while playing in the orphanage yard. If anyone else had found it, they wouldn't have even looked twice. But to Cass and Archie, it was not just a message of warning, but also a message of promise. A promise that they would soon defeat their enemies. A promise that they would make the world safer for others in the future. But most of all, a promise that they would avenge all of the others that had come before them that had unknowingly given up their talent so that another could sit on a throne.

Two words. One number. Zero room for mistake.

_Room 222. Thursday._


End file.
